ferment

[ noun fur-ment; verb fer-ment ]

/ noun ˈfɜr mɛnt; verb fərˈmɛnt /

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See synonyms for: ferment / fermented / fermenting on Thesaurus.com

noun

Also called organized ferment. any of a group of living organisms, as yeasts, molds, and certain bacteria, that cause fermentation.

Also called unorganized ferment. an enzyme.

fermentation.

agitation; unrest; excitement; commotion; tumult: The new painters worked in a creative ferment. The capital lived in a political ferment.

verb (used with object)

to act upon as a ferment.

to cause to undergo fermentation.

to inflame; foment: to ferment prejudiced crowds to riot.

to cause agitation or excitement in: Reading fermented his active imagination.

verb (used without object)

to be fermented; undergo fermentation.

to seethe with agitation or excitement.

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Origin of ferment

1350–1400; Middle English <Latin fermentum yeast (noun), fermentāre to cause to rise (v.); akin to barm, Latin fervēre to boil

OTHER WORDS FROM ferment

fer·ment·a·ble, adjectivefer·ment·a·bil·i·ty, nounnon·fer·ment·a·bil·i·ty, nounnon·fer·ment·a·ble, adjective

non·fer·ment·ed, adjectivenon·fer·ment·ing, adjectiveun·fer·ment·a·ble, adjectiveun·fer·ment·ed, adjectiveun·fer·ment·ing, adjectivewell-fer·ment·ed, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH ferment

ferment , foment

Words nearby ferment

Fermat, fermata, Fermat's last theorem, Fermat's principle, Fermat's theorem, ferment, fermentation, fermentation lock, fermentative, fermi, Fermi-Dirac statistics

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ferment in a sentence

You can commission a conclusion from one of Molly’s peers, or go hunting for the best one that bubbles up from the ferment of the fans.
Elyse Flayme and the final flood|Robin Sloan|December 23, 2021|MIT Technology Review
Using a mason jar for lacto-fermentation, you have to regularly “burp” the ferment by opening the lid every now and then to release the gas.
Forget Canning, and Get Yourself a Chinese Pickle Crock|Clarissa Wei|July 14, 2021|Eater
But it was intellectual ferment that Sheehy craved above all else.
Gail Sheehy Books Passage to the Past|Lizzie Crocker|September 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“Biofuel” can be made out of anything that will ferment or rot, including digestive system waste products.
The Federal Government Has Violated My Right to Chainsaw|P. J. O’Rourke|April 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST

A literary ferment erupted in coastal Andhra between the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
India’s Newest State Telangana Is Bosnia Redux|Kranti Rai|March 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In other words, we have political mobilization, backed by intellectual ferment and blessed by the president of the United States.
Obama’s Trayvon Martin Briefing Shows View on Race in America Is Changing|Errol Louis|July 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Ferment isn't imminent, but the conditions for it are ripe, said the group in a new report out this week.
The Coming West Bank Instability|Ali Gharib|May 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Lime salts also possess the power of transforming renninogen into the active ferment.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
They are extremely prone to change, and in presence of animal matters readily ferment, and are converted into salts of ammonia.
Elements of Agricultural Chemistry|Thomas Anderson
At the moment when our history begins, the audacity of the new religious doctrines was putting all Paris in a ferment.
Catherine de' Medici|Honore de Balzac
A mixture of water and honey allowed to ferment together was called mulsa.
The Private Life of the Romans|Harold Whetstone Johnston
The existence of such a soluble ferment would explain the presence of free sugar and free fisetin.
Some Constituents of the Poison Ivy Plant: (Rhus Toxicodendron)|William Anderson Syme

British Dictionary definitions for ferment

ferment

noun (ˈfɜːmɛnt)

any agent or substance, such as a bacterium, mould, yeast, or enzyme, that causes fermentation

another word for fermentation

commotion; unrest

verb (fəˈmɛnt)

to undergo or cause to undergo fermentation

to stir up or seethe with excitement

Derived forms of ferment

fermentable, adjectivefermentability, nounfermenter, noun

Word Origin for ferment

C15: from Latin fermentum yeast, from fervēre to seethe

undefined ferment

See foment

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

ferment

Origin of ferment

OTHER WORDS FROM ferment

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH ferment

Words nearby ferment

Words related to ferment

How to use ferment in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for ferment

Derived forms of ferment

Word Origin for ferment

undefined ferment